Its Relation to the Morals of the Young Man
By W. S. Sadler
DEMORALIZATION OF THE YOUNG MAN. No. 4.
Its Relation to the Morals of the Young Man.
The Importance of Proper Diet.
IT is a fact which is becoming generally recognized both by physicians and reformers that there is usually a physical basis for moral depravity. The young man of half a century ago had, as a rule, abundance of physical exercise. He lived on the most plain and simple diet, which, however, supplied all the nourishment required by the human system for purposes of repair, heat, and energy. But the young man of the present day has become dissatisfied with this plain, simple, old-fashioned dietary of his forefathers. He must have foods and drinks which stimulate and excite, and burn on their way down, all of which has a direct tendency to inflame the animal passions, enthrall the conscience, benumb the sensibilities, pervert the judgment, and otherwise make a slave of the soul that has thus abandoned itself to the gratification of appetite. Stimulating Waste-Products of Flesh Foods.
Eminent physiologists have clearly shown that the waste products and other poisons contained in animal food have a direct influence in producing an appetite for tobacco, alcohol, and other stimulants. Upon the death of the animal, elimination of poison ceases, and the poisonous and stimulating matter which was in process of elimination is retained in the tissues of the dead animal, to be afterwards introduced into the human system, if the meat be eaten, there to do its pernicious work of exciting the tender and delicate nerves, and otherwise arousing a craving for stronger stimulants. Dr. Haig, an eminent English authority, in his work on Uric Acid, pages 256-7, says :- "Like morphine, cocaine, and alcohol, of which we have been speaking, meat itself is a stimulant, and this is the real cause of the difficulty which so many experience in giving it up. Thus I have been told by a patient of mine, whose daughter, among other good works, has a Home for Inebriate Women, that her own experience has taught her that flesh diet is the very worst for them, and she does what she can to tempt them away from meat. But she says, 'You can really see joy in their faces if a large joint of meat is brought in;' just, I remark, as you would see joy in their faces, if a keg of whisky was placed on the table. I also hear from the same source that if the craving for alcohol is overcome, that for meat goes also. It is stimulation that is wanted, not nutrition. I would also point out that meat not only produces in this way a craving for stimulants, to overcome the rebound from its own stimulation; but it also produces thirst, so that those who use it are given to drink very considerable quantities of such fluids as beer, and thus introduce ever more and more of the stimulating acids and alcohol." Thus it is, therefore, not merely a question of diseased meat, but a question of poisons manufactured within the animal, and which are being carried out of the animal at the time death ensues. The young man who would keep his morals untainted in this age of degeneracy should look well to it that his physical food is both untainted and non-stimulating. Anything that creates a thirst which water can not satisfy must be regarded as a foe to temperance and purity. If the appetite of the boy or young man is being trained to crave things unnatural and irritating, it will continue to crave something stronger and stronger from day to day. It is thus that the fond mother, who puts pepper in the food, flavoring extracts (tainted with alcohol) and spices in the dainties and delicacies, trains up the appetite of her son to crave alcoholic beverages, the terrible results of which in after years almost break the mother-heart, when she is forced to inquire, "O, where is my wandering boy to-night?" Condiments, as well as other unnatural and highly-seasoned foods, irritate the digestive organs, and fever the entire system. We are aware that these small items in the diet question have received but little attention at the hands of temperance agitators and social purity reformers, and we believe it is largely because of inattention to these small but potent agents in the causation of intemperance that so little real success has attended their efforts. It is but an aggregation of these small causes of demoralization that by and by presents to our view such a fearful culminating Niagara of vice, crime, and intemperance. Let every parent feel the importance of devoting much time and study to the question of dietetics and their influence upon the future moral and physical well-being of their children. Practical Illustrations of the Relation of Diet to Intemperance.
CASE 1.-A young man, aged 21, of splendid family connections and good education, staggered into the mission one night in a drunken condition. His father was a sober and industrious man. The boy had all his life partaken of a diet rich in flesh foods and condiments. As the result, such a keen craving for further stimulation was aroused in his nature that relief was obtained only by the use of some form of alcohol. A plain and simple diet of fruits and grains was prescribed for this young man. Within a few days the craving for alcohol had departed, and, continuing his simple dietary, he has been able to keep sober ever since. CASE 2.-A middle-aged, successful business man, who had broken away from the drink habit almost a score of times, only to fall again. He did beautifully for months on a vegetarian diet, and it was not until one day when he decided to go out to a restaurant and get a "square meal" (beef-steak, mustard, pepper, etc.) that the fall came. Concerning the relation of diet to temperance, this is the testimony he gave: "When I finished that supper of meat, fried foods, and condiments, I got up from the table and went straight to the nearest saloon, where I drank beer, then whisky, and that is about the last I remember." The story is told. Up to this time this man had been skeptical as to the real value of diet in its relation to the liquor habit, but this experience was enough to convince him. Scores of cases similar to the above might be given did space permit. Unsuitable Combinations and Unwholesome Foods.
Bad combinations of food produce in the process of digestion, or rather indigestion, alcohol and other fermentation products which create a clamoring for further stimulation. Unwholesome combinations of milk, sugar, pastry, etc., contribute their share in interfering with digestion and nutrition, and thus set in operation causes which serve as a direct influence in the production of the stimulant appetite. The free use of sweets and other confections not only produces a catarrhal condition of the stomach, but also general digestive disturbances which invariably result in the setting up of unnatural cravings within the system. There is scarcely a natural flavor to be found in the God-given bounties of this world that the devil has not borrowed to add fragrance to the unwholesome and health-destroying soft drinks, confections, and knickknacks, which are dealt out to children under a variety of fascinating and appetizing names, such as chocolate creams, cherry drops, wine-cups, angel food, bonbons, etc. In an Eastern city a candy dealer was recently arrested on a charge of selling intoxicating liquors without a license,-selling to school children candy which contained a large per cent. of alcohol. That which is sometimes as sweet as honey in the mouth, in the stomach oftimes becomes as bitter as gall, and thus is developed into a potent cause of intemperance, effectually striking the most telling blows for the destruction of the health, strength, and happiness of the youth of the rising generation. At the time of night when our forefathers were asleep, recuperating the energy of brain and brawn, their grandchildren of to-day are gormandizing and dissipating around some festal board, benumbing and destroying their God-given moral sensibilities, perverting their powers of reason and judgment, as well as robbing themselves of the rest so essential to the proper performance of life's duties the following day. These late dinners and suppers of modern social life interfere with sleep, which, especially to the growing youth, is "Nature's sweet restorer," and otherwise derange the nervous system, making invalids of hundreds and drunkards of thousands. Let the young man of to-day who would rise to eminence and usefulness in this world, make it his motto, "Eat to live," instead of, "Live to eat."